Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Dec. 26

Post Time: Noon
Race 1 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $26,000, Claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up
5 Sacred Ovation – Trainer Peter Miller has a strong uncoupled entry so caveat emptor; this one has found the softer company a lot more to his liking, early speed.
3 Airfoil – Claimed by high percentage NoCal trainer Jonathan Wong; you may not be familiar with Wong, but his work speaks for itself, suspect will be flying fast late.
Long Shot – 6 Moonlight Meeting
Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $31,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds
12 Little Mustard – Jockey Mario Gutierrez finished the year strong and I won’t be shocked to see his momentum continue; this one is a grinder who might keep on going.
5 Gambler’s Wish – This one could be lone early speed in a possible no passing zone field; your edge over me is the action among the 5 FTS, won’t take much to win this.
Long Shot – 8 Mike’s Benchmark
Race 3 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 2-year-olds
1 Escapee – Not often you get HOF trainer Bob Baffert and Rafael Bejarano at 5/1 in a weak spot like this; like the cut back in distance and the blinker’s back on.
6 Asian’s Way – Tepid chalk in a race full of question marks; from the first crop of Trappe Shot who is a son of Tapit, we know how prolific his sire line has been.
Long Shot – 9 Quigley’s Corner
Race 4 – 6 ½ furlongs (turf), $100,000 Daytona, 3-year-olds and up
12 No Silent – The key for me is his sharp win in the Eddie D down this same hillside course; draw line thru the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint where he has no chance.
1 Richard’s Boy – When you’ve run and won down the tricky hillside turf course, that’s a hint of things to come; hate the inside post, but like Victor Espinoza riding.
Long Shot – 7 Alert Bay
Race 5 – 7 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
8 Curlin Rules – There are 5 FTS in here and this is one of them; he is a son of Curlin and is trained by John Sadler so those are two good things in his favor.
7 Prince of Arabia – Ran a deceptively good debut race when flying home during the late stages; if he starts OK tonight, half of his battle may be done already.
Long Shot – 11 An Khe Pass
Race 6 – 1 mile (turf), $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile, 3-year-olds
6 Mister Brightside – Was not embarrassed in his first two U.S. turf stakes; now joins the barn of trainer Paddy Gallagher and gets HOF jockey Mike Smith to ride.
10 Om – Logical chalk is clearly the one to beat; he may be a single for many punters, but this race looks a lot more wide open to me, will stalk Acceptance early.
Long Shot – 5 Soul Driver
Race 7 – 7 furlongs, $300,000 La Brea, Fillies, 3-year-olds
6 Ben’s Duchess – You can tell by my picks that if trainer John Sadler has a good day, so will I; she got a perfect set up in last, but I think she is improving too.
3 Cavorting – Was the beaten favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint; was traveling well late, but dead late closer Wavell Avenue just got the jump on her.
Long Shot – 2 Hot City Girl
Race 8 – 7 furlongs, $300,000 Malibu, 3-year-olds
4 Runhappy – He will be champion sprinter, even if he loses today; with new trainer Laura Wohlers, she has big shoes to fill in Maria Borell who developed this colt.
2 Marking – This is his first stakes try, but could not be more impressive in winning twice already; cuts back in distance which should be a real positive with these.
Long Shot – 7 Lord Nelson
Race 9 – 1 1/8th miles (turf), Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up
10 Unusually Green - Has frosted me more than once with close, but no cigar, finishes; he is a generous 9/2 odds today and I know he’s as fast as these.
4 Tale of Life – Good to see top trainer Graham Motion in SoCal; he has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor, this one gets class relief from a pair of rough stakes.
Long Shot – 11 What a View
Best Bet - 6 Mister Brightside (race 6)
Del Mar Sunday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 18/2/$15.80; Long Shots, 9/2/$16.20; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Del Mar Final Totals - 337/87/$532.00; Long Shots, 164/19/$223.80; Best Bets, 20/9/$30.60
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #4 Tiz a Chance (2/1) in race 5 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Sunday, Geaux Mets ran second at Aqueduct paying $7.60 to place and $3.90 to show. Simo Final Stats - 177/118/$898.80; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick